Visual Analysis of "Girl Culture" Photo #7

Note: I could not post the actual picture for fear of copyright; so here is a clip art of a stick girl.

www.clipartpanda.com

     For this picture, one can immediately notice the girl bent down in the center of her bedroom amongst a pile of her clothes strewn all over the floor. Her room is in complete disarray: drawers are open and covered with clothes; the floor is almost completely hidden under a sea of clothes, bags, and paper; her desk is lined with clothes; and the wall racks hold even more clothes. These details provide the most interesting aspects of the picture because they immediately provide enough information for the viewer to know what is happening: the girl, through her desire to look her best, is frantically looking for new clothes to wear; and this insecurity to "be a new girl" is not a sudden one--the massive amount of clothes is enough proof.

     The photographer wants to elicit understanding that girls can have a huge insecurity about their personal appearance. This given scenario implies that the girl is insecure about what she wears (an insecurity most likely brought about by going somewhere public [a school, perhaps?]); thus, she tries to wear the best, most varied clothes--on the floor is a bag from Gap, a fairly expensive store known for its comfortable clothing; and on the wooden beam are many different scarfs wrapped around it.

     Certain nuances brought by the photographer gives credence to the above interpretation. The focus of the photograph is the girl (she is in the center of the entire photo) and the clothes on which she is standing (they are practically everywhere). The photographer provides a good balance of detail to allow the viewer to absorb how many clothes this girl has: the clothes are not just on the left side of the picture, but they are also on the right side of it as well (either on the wooden beam, near the lower right corner of the photograph, or even on the bed). An interesting detail that some may glance over is the large number of dark clothes on the floor--even she is wearing a black shirt in the photo!--a possible testament to an insecurity about her body, since dark clothes are "slimming" clothes. A final note is that this photograph may not be a picture of her entire room; there could be more if the photographer turns around.

     A larger claim one can make with the photograph is the effect of the occurrence of people judging others and themselves based on what they have seen or heard from other people or from television. Seeing fancy clothes or being ridiculed for wearing low-quality ones can alter a person's behavior and make her hyper-attentive to her looks rather than her own personal qualities. By constantly trying to "dress to impress," people can become so enamored in their pursuit to look prettier or more handsome that they, too, will stand in the middle of everything, bend down, and frantically rummage through the mess to find what they once were happy to be.

Unit One Reflection

www.comicvine.com

     We have finally reached the conclusion of the QRG, the first project of ENG 109H! As I start steeling myself for the next unit, let's look back on how we got here.

     As much as I use the Internet, I never considered that I would be writing something Internet-style. And even then, I thought that writing something that would appear in the Internet would be fairly easy; most of what I have read involved relatively sophisticated vocabulary like "noob" and "troll" and "gr8 job, m8" (Great job, mate). However, when I took the time to read the detailed, informative QRG articles posted by news companies and writers, I was impressed with how they were able to take something that would fill hundreds of pages and shrink it into a story that only requires ten minutes of time. I quickly realized during the writing process that that would be the most difficult part of all.

     First, however, I needed to collect the information, and taking a few articles from Wikipedia was obviously not the go-to solution. I had to look for places where people would talk about my topic of BPA: medical news sites, research journals, some blog posts. I was even able to access the university library's database to search for the necessary research briefs, something that I never did before. During my perusing, I found that my topic was talked about not only in medical sites, but also in magazines and general news sites as well, showing that not just doctors are concerned about BPA. There was also a short podcast in a magazine's dedicated for discussing the effects of BPA.

     After collecting all of the information, I compiled them into an annotated bibliography, in which I summarized each one of the sources I decided to use and analyzed some of their rhetorical strategies. However, I still felt as if I was "all-over-the-place"--there was so much information that I had no clue as to where I would begin. Thankfully, I learned how to make a cluster connecting each source to its main ideas and beliefs. I was skeptical at first about whether or not the cluster would be useful (I was always a "sit-down-and-get-'er-done" kind of writer), but the cluster worked wonders concerning organization and unity of topic.

     When I began to write the drafts for the QRG, I saw how all of the preparation beforehand allowed me to synthesize the outside information with my own thoughts fairly easily. I found myself weaving paragraphs together, spouting out long quotes from professionals in the medical field and writers in the public world, and creating a healthy ten pages of BPA-related facts as if I was scribbling down a short essay. It almost felt fun after a while, and it was all because I took the time to prepare myself with the proper tools!

     However, it was not all smooth sailing. I did forget that I was not the only one who was going to read the QRG. I needed to pay attention to the audience that I was writing to--not everyone was going to understand all of the ludicrously bloated medical gobbledygook that these people spoke! It was tricky for me to revise my sentences to fit more properly into a general public setting, since I, too, have a tendency to write with overinflated jargon. Now that I am fully aware of my flaw, I can dedicate more time into figuring out who I am going to write to and how I can present the information in a way so that my audience can completely comprehend, because, like speaking, writing is worthless if no one knows what you are saying!

     If there is one sentence to summarize this whole experience, it would be this: rhetorical awareness is key in writing. Rhetorical awareness will help you know to whom you are writing, how you should write, what you should write, and even why you should write. Taking time to look at your "surroundings" and your sources can significantly improve public writing and make your work more appealing to others around you instead of driving them away with super long, super technical terms.

     And from here ends Part 1 of ENG 109H! Up next, Part 2: Rhetorical Analysis! I can feel that this one is just going to be SWELL! Until then, this is Dave, signing off from Part 1 and getting ready for the next!

Final Annotated Bibliography

Here is the final revised annotated bibliography for the QRG!



1. Ban BPA From Your Life: 6 Small Steps That Will Help You Live Toxin Free. The Sleuth 
     Journal website. http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/ban-bpa-from-your-life-6-small-steps-
     that-will-help-you-live-toxin-free/. Published Dec. 11, 2012. Accessed Sept. 26, 2015. 

     Written by an unknown author (which may be a damper on the article's credibility), the article "Ban BPA From Your Life: 6 Small Steps That Will Help You Live Toxin Free" in the Sleuth Journal website delves a little into the history of BPA, explains some issues with the substance, and lists recommended actions to take to avoid exposure to BPA. He provides some historical background to BPA and dives into teaching about how to be aware of BPA in the products that people use and how to slowly build a life free of reliance from BPA. The main purpose of the article is to encourage people to become more self-aware of BPA and to find a way to live without that plastic. The author uses a simple-to-follow format with headings to indicate new sections, an easy-to-understand rhetorical style, and plenty of graphs and pictures to supplement his article. This article uses some helpful graphics that I could draw information from and may even help with the conclusion of the QRG. 

2. Chinn C, Edelstein BL, Fleisch AF, Landrigan PJ, Sheffield PE. Bisphenol A and Related 
     Compounds in Dental Materials. Pediatrics. 2010;126(4):760-768. 
     http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/4/760.full.pdf+html. Accessed 
     Sept. 2, 2015.

     In the research brief "Bisphenol A and Related Compounds in Dental Materials," published in the scholarly journal Pediatrics, Dr. Chinn, Dr. Edelstein, Dr. Fleisch, Dr. Landrigan, and Dr. Sheffield, all of whom are either medical doctors or dentists, assert that given the minuscule amount of BPA exposure and the more significant benefits of having dental sealants rather than forbearing them, one may continue wearing BPA-based sealants without great fear. The five authors support their claim by providing statistical and scientific evidence outlining the length of time BPA stays in human saliva, the possibilities of BPA substitutes transforming into BPA, and some preventative measures against BPA. Their purpose is to give some clarity about BPA, share some new research data from studying people affected by BPA, and propose a recommended course of action to ultimately subside any worries about the "dangers" of BPA exposure. The five authors implement a more formal, scientific tone, diction, and syntax to appeal to the scholars and researchers that are studying the topics of BPA or dental products. This article will be of great use as a document in support of BPA-based sealants. 



3. Hamilton, D. Interview: Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D. Frontline website. 
     http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/nature/interviews/vomsaal.html
     Published Feb. 1998. Accessed Sept. 26, 2015. 

     Conducted by Doug Hamilton, a producer of PBS's Frontline website, in 1998, this interview with Dr. Frederick vom Saal, a leading researcher in hormones, provides information of Dr. vom Saal's research, explaining how he studied the effects of small doses of hormones and how that relates to BPA. Dr. vom Saal begins with giving his data from his research and proceeds to tie the research with BPA, explaining how BPA can disguise itself as a hormone and invade the body that way and warning people to be cautious of BPA. The purpose of the interview is to inform people of a possible new threat in a time when plastics were becoming very prominent in society. Conversational dialogue is, for the most part, maintained, although Hamilton had to ask vom Saal to simplify his rhetoric occasionally. This article provides the foundation of the fears and worries of the public and why the controversy began in the first place. 



4. Hauser R, Marcus M, Olea N, Vandenberg LN, Welshons WV. Human exposure to 
     bisphenol A. Reproductive Toxicology. 2007;24(2):139-177. http://ac.els-
     cdn.com/S0890623807002377/1-s2.0-S0890623807002377-main.pdf?_tid=813d52fa-
     534b-11e5-a7bc-
     00000aacb35e&acdnat=1441402126_73a2a18398c3a49db41060aa4e2deda9. 
     Accessed Sept. 2, 2015.

     In the scholarly journal Reproductive Toxicology, Dr. Hauser, Dr. Marcus, Dr. Olea. Dr. Vandenberg, and Dr. Welshons, all of whom are medical doctors or doctors of environmental or public health, published an article entitled "Human exposure to bisphenol A," which claims that BPA is a great detriment to organic life, both human and animal. To construct their argument, the authors often list pages of data obtained from research comparing humans to animals like rats, mice, and monkeys and interpret their data in sections, drawing many similarities between man and animal. The authors' purpose is to validate the dangers of BPA exposure for organic life and to figure out the extent of the damage BPA could do depending on one's stage of life. The authors adopt a formal, scientific tone and rhetoric similar to other scholarly journals. This article can be a great source of information to provide extremely detailed notes on BPA's effects and to show that BPA does not solely concern mankind.


5. Horowitz, J. Dueling Docs: Are Dental Sealants Safe for Kids? Huffington Post website.      
     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-horowitz/dueling-docs-are-dental-s_b_314729.html. 
     Published Nov. 17, 2011. Accessed Sept. 1, 2015. 

     Janet Horowitz, a writer for the online newspaper called Huffington Post, published an article named "Dueling Docs: Are Dental Sealants Safe for Kids?", in which she presents an argument between two dentists who have differing views concerning BPA-based sealants. Horowitz herself has no stance on the matter and only served to accommodate and present the argument: this is evident by the way she takes information from both supportive and non-supportive views on BPA sealants, sets up a contrast between the information, poses a question, and introduces the two debating doctors, including massive quotes from both of them to present both sides of the debate. Her purpose was to inform people about both sides of the BPA debate, allowing them to make their own choices concerning dental sealants. She uses more common vocabulary and a casual tone, appropriate for the general public. This article can be used to share some personal beliefs held by dentists, draw some insight from their defenses, and provide some minor evaluation of the benefits and detriments of BPA.

6. Landa, J. The Dangers of BPA. Huffington Post website.  
     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-landa-md/healthy-living-news_b_4919960.html.    
     Published March 7, 2014. Accessed Sept. 1, 2015. 

     Obstetrician/gynecologist, hormone specialist, and Chief Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD Dr. Jen Landa wrote an article on the Huffington Post entitled "The Dangers of BPA," in which she provides her opposing view against BPA using her experience and expertise in her field and some research from the FDA and also includes some preventative measures that a person can take to avoid BPA exposure. She summarizes the report given by the FDA, notes the peculiarity of the U.S.'s situation concerning BPA, gives some of her knowledge from her experience as a doctor, and provides a bulleted list of tips to minimize BPA exposure, all with a simple-to-understand, public-friendly rhetorical style. Her purpose was to warn others about the "dangers of BPA" and to inspire an action to eliminate BPA from daily living. This article can be used in support of the opposition against BPA, especially because of the fact that the information comes from a well-qualified doctor.

7. Main, E. The New Scary Threat in Canned Soup. Rodale's Organic Life website. 
     http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/bpa-health-problems. Published June 26, 2012. 
     Accessed Sept. 26, 2015. 

     Emily Main, a writer for the Rodale's Organic Life website, which primarily focuses on healthy living, reported in her article "The New Scary Threat in Canned Soup" that BPA, which is laced inside cans for canned soup, has the potential of causing brain cancer. She paraphrases her information from a research brief published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology, stating that the research team found that adults with high levels of BPA in their body had a higher change of getting brain cancer. Her purpose was to warn people to stay away from BPA, lest they could have a very good chance of obtaining a tumor in their heads. She uses simple vocabulary and a clear internet-article-style format, making it easy for her readers to follow. This article can provide an example of the continuation of the BPA controversy. 

8. Miller R, Whyatt R. Science AMA Series: We’re Rachel Miller and Robin Whyatt, 
     professors at Columbia University. We study how prenatal and early-life exposures to 
     BPA  and other chemicals affect children’s health, including child asthma, lower IQ, and 
     more. Ask Us Anything!. The New Reddit Journal of Science. 2014. Available at: 

     https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/2j7mym/science_ama_series_were_rachel

     _miller_and_robin/. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015.

     Dr. Rachel Miller and Dr. Robin Whyatt, two professors from Columbia University, hosted an "Ask Us Anything" session on the New Reddit Journal of Science, answering questions concerning BPA and sharing their own beliefs against BPA, primarily stemming from their research into the relationship between BPA and child asthma. Using their expertise and research, they responded to inquiries concerning their thoughts on BPA, on BPA-free items, and on phthalates, a group of chemicals that increase the flexibility of plastics and also has effects similar to BPA. Because it is an AMA blog post, the two doctors kept medical jargon to a minimum and maintained a friendly tone. Their only purpose is to share some of their knowledge to the public to prevent people from being harmed by BPA. This article, like many others, can build upon the opposing side of BPA usage and give further insight into other materials used in plastics and their relationship to BPA.

  
9. @MNT_James. Prenatal BPA exposure could reduce children’s lung functioning 
     medicalnewstoday.com/articles/28351… #asthma #BPA. 
     https://twitter.com/MNT_James/status/519382893135532033. Posted Oct. 7, 2014. 

     Using information from the Journal of the American Medical Association, former clinical doctor and present Medical News Today writer James McIntosh implied in his article "Prenatal BPA exposure could reduce children's lung functioning," which can be found in Storify, that very young children could become asthmatic by being exposed to BPA. He cites information from the research data given by JAMA, providing many pieces of numerical data  to show the various rates at which children have had asthma by BPA exposure and many links to other sources. The purpose of the article was to highlight some more problems that BPA can cause children and to encourage parents to keep their children away from BPA. Besides the sections of research data, McIntosh uses basic, everyday rhetoric for the sake of his everyday readers. This article can be used to further build up a case to eliminate BPA from dental sealants, especially those designed for young children.

10. Pesca, M. BPA! BPS! Are They BS?. The Gist. 2015. Available at: 

     http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2015/08/the_gist_bpa_and_bps_plastics

     _with_maria_konnikova_and_canadian_elections.html. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015.

     In slate.com, Mike Pesca, the podcaster for the website's podcast The Gist, held an interview with Maria Konnikova, a reporter for the New Yorker, in his podcast, in which Konnikova presented her belief that BPA and BPS are both dangerous to humans. Konnikova relayed stories that she wrote before, such as the zebrafish BPA experiment and the BPS tests, to not only prove that BPA was detrimental to public health, but also reveal that BPS could be even worse than BPA. Her purpose was to stimulate people into becoming aware of BPA-free products and being sensitive to what was given to children. The article can lead to an interesting topic concerning possible alternatives for BPA and their effects in comparison to BPA.

11. Raloff, J. Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective. Science News website. 
     https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/putting-bpa-based-dental-fillings-
     perspective. Published July 16, 2012. Accessed Sept. 1, 2015.

     In the online magazine Science News, writer Janet Raloff published an article called "Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective," in which she suggested that bis-GMA and BPA, although relatively mellow in their side effects, have the potential to become devastating in a group setting, especially if the group involves children. She bases most of her writing on the research and observations of others, specifically Dr. Nancy Maserejian, Philip Landrigan, and Jeffrey Stansbury, building up the validity of the facts. The main purpose of the article is to inform readers about some new side effects of BPA and bis-GMA on children, making readers more cautious about the fillings. She maintains a casual tone and rhetoric for her article, often paraphrasing some of the cited research for easier comprehension. This article can be used to present some of the negatives of using BPA sealants and even state, in the context of the article, that many doctors are still unsure whether to ordain the use of BPA sealants or not. 

12. Rastogi, N. Let the Baby Have His Bottle?: Evaluating the Dangers of Bisphenol A. Slate 

     website. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2009/07/

     let_the_baby_have_his_bottle.html. Published July 21, 2009. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015. 

     In Slate magazine, writer Nina Rastogi conveyed and emphasized a common consensus that BPA's "low dose" experiment results were still inconclusive and that people only have to be careful about how much BPA they intake on a regular basis. The author provides many statistics from health organizations and research reports on BPA exposure, including hyperlinks to the sources in which she obtained the information. From reading the statistics, one may find that the purpose for the article is to show that the "dangers" of BPA are very minimal in small doses, meaning that people could live with BPA without fear. Rastogi keeps her rhetoric simple yet precise, and her argument is formatted conversationally without any extensive details. This article can be a great resource to prove that the reaction to BPA is simply an overreaction. 

13. @ScienceDaily2. BPA and BPS (substitute for BPA) affect embryonic brain development 
     in zebrafish: Low levels of… bit.ly/1ycGHUW (ScienceDaily). 
     https://twitter.com/ScienceDaily2/status/554752006007451648. Posted Jan. 12, 2015.

     In "BPA and BPS (substitute for BPA) affect embryonic brain development in zebrafish: Low levels of chemicals linked to hyperactivity," a research brief cited by ScienceDaily and posted on Twitter, the University of Calgary suggested that BPA and BPS are practically the same in terms of side effects. Most of the information, which consisted of many statistics and data concerning the experiments with zebrafish and the substances, was paraphrased from UCalgary's report and quoted from Deborah Kurrasch, the head of the laboratory conducting the research; Hamid Habibi, a researcher; and Cassandra Kinch, another researcher. The purpose of the article was to inform the people that BPS, a substance found in BPA-free materials, has similar side effects to BPA, as shown by the data revealing that zebrafish became hyperactive from exposure to both BPA and BPS. The article contained normal rhetoric to draw in a general audience. This article can be used to make a solid claim that BPA substitutes can be just as harmful as BPA and thus need to also be taken into consideration when one uses such materials.

Revised Paragraph

www.flickr.com

     As the class and I are approaching the final deadline for the QRG, we learned some new concepts to make our QRGs more refined. Among them were learning how to use active voice over passive voice, eliminating nominalization in our writing, and unifying the topic of a paragraph with the evidence supplied by making the subject of the sentences the topic. To demonstrate, here is a paragraph from my own QRG before adjustments:

     "The main problem with ridding BPA from society is found in BPA’s side effects--they are all hypothetical. All of the data that researchers have obtained from multiple experiments with many different varieties of organisms resulted in many inconsistencies: for example, one experiment gave a relatively high range of BPA exposure that would result in acquiring adverse symptoms (about 50-500 micrograms); however, as time progressed, reanalysis of the data showed that the symptoms appeared at even smaller intervals of exposure (about 10 micrograms), necessitating a reevaluation of the experiment. Another example is the rumor that if babies or young children were exposed to high concentrations of BPA, they would become asthmatic. This statement was quickly conflicted by a research revelation that displayed very little correlation between respiratory complications and BPA exposure; in fact, the correlation fluctuated immensely just by a difference of one year of aging. Even today, many leading researchers of BPA admit that more evidence and research need to be brought to pass in order to confirm the side effects and to fully condemn BPA as a harmful substance."


And here is the paragraph with adjustments:

     "BPA's side effects have proven to be the main problem with ridding the substance from society because they all are hypothetical. In almost every single experiment with many different varieties of organisms, the side effects brought about data with many inconsistencies: for example, during one experiment, they would appear at a relatively high range of BPA exposure (about 50-500 micrograms); however, as time progressed, the symptoms would manifest at even smaller intervals of exposure (about 10 micrograms), necessitating a reanalysis of the data. Another supposed side effect caused by BPA is asthma, caused, according to some doctors, by exposure to BPA during childhood. This supposed symptom was quickly conflicted by a research revelation that displayed very little correlation between respiratory complications and BPA exposure; in fact, the symptoms' correlation fluctuated immensely just by a difference of one year of aging. Even today, the symptoms have yet to be established as solid evidence to eradicate BPA as a harmful substance."


Do you think the first or the second one is better? Do you think the trick with coherence works well? Let me know what you guys think!

Revised QRG

Here is the link to my QRG! Hope you enjoy it!

uploads.wikimedia.org

Peer Review and Revised Thesis Statement

www.freepressjournal.in

      Today, I was able to get my QRG peer-reviewed by my classmates and to check two other QRGs that my classmates wrote themselves. It is quite fascinating to see how many mistakes that one may never have noticed unless someone else looks at the composition. Ironically, sometimes you find a mistake on another person's paper, and later you realize that you made precisely the same error that the person that you just corrected made! However, even though the action of giving your composition to analyze and study is almost a humbling one, it yields valuable insight to you and to others.

     By peer editing others' papers, I saw the different ways that my classmates structured their arguments. Some kept their arguments short and straightforward, avoiding the occasionally extravagant grandiloquence in exchange for simple, clear facts and evidences. They found interesting methods of catching the attention of the readers through their introduction, whether it was through a jarring, thought-provoking question or through a story. Admittedly, the two QRGs I read were on the short side--about a page or a page-and-a-half--and both did not use all of their sources. I found a few grammar issues, but those were not of extreme importance--it is a rough draft, after all! By letting my classmates peer-edit my paper, I found that there were some areas that I could elaborate on better and some areas that I could keep as is. They found a mistake that I would never have seen unless I was told, and they informed me about which places were very effective. Peer editing is definitely a fantastic tool for assessment and self-assessment, to help not only others, but also yourself.


     Before, my thesis statement for my QRG was this: "The question, therefore, is no longer a question of the possibility of ignoring the effects of BPA consumption, but rather a question of whether or not BPA is harmful enough for people to attempt to avoid it altogether or to continue using the substance in related products, including dental sealants." But thanks to peer editing, I have written a revised thesis for my QRG on BPA and dental sealants: "Because of the prominence of plastics in the everyday lives of humankind in not only commercial products but also medical products like dental sealants, ignoring BPA is no longer an option; instead, it must be determined whether or not BPA is harmful enough to be eradicated from society or safe enough to continue to be used in related products." Let me know in the comments section which thesis statement you think sounds better! I am always happy to receive more reviews from my peers!

Thoughts on Drafting

www.reddit.com

After finishing the first draft of my QRG, I can now take a break and reflect on how the QRG unfolded. Definitely there were some things for my preparation in writing this QRG draft that were helpful, and there were some that proved to be not so helpful. Let's take a look-see at those things, shall we?

To begin, learning how to write the PIE paragraph and how to properly organize information proved invaluable for this QRG. By following the PIE paragraph format, I could keep the whole structure of the QRG coherent and sensible while providing vivid yet concise information for fast reading because keeping paragraphs at three sentences are great for both the reader (it allows for more comprehension for the presented data) and for the author (it does not require extensive elaboration). Learning how to organize the information was also very vital for the QRG. If I just slapped on the information in a haphazard manner, the whole guide would have made little sense and, obviously, would have been extremely unorganized.

The rest of the information (drafting a thesis statement, writing introductions, and writing conclusions) were only partially helpful: they gave a slight idea of how to write good theses, intros, and conclusions, but not of how to write them for a QRG, and an AMA-style QRG to boot. Particularly, all three of those sections were more concerned about writing a rhetorical analysis, something that will prove useful two weeks from now, but not so much currently. Therefore, I had to readjust the thesis, introductions, and conclusions to fit the style of a conversational, AMA-style QRG, making a more captivating intro with a thesis and a more overarching, predictive conclusion.

Overall, writing the QRG was definitely a new experience for me. It demanded that I take all of the experience I had with writing research papers and modifying it to make something short, sweet, and filled to the brim with facts. So ends draft #1, and so begins the final stage of the QRG project.

Practicing Quotes

Here is a sample of the upcoming QRG on BPA dental sealants. This portion is just practice for adding and contextualizing direct quotations for the QRG. (Note: The AMA stylization of adding quotations revolves around using paraphrases rather than direct quotes and reference numbers rather than straightforward acknowledgements. Therefore, for this practice, I used some MLA format to include direct quotes while using superscripted numbers for the AMA reference.)

For this portion, the colors are defined as follows:

ORANGE indicates the signal phrases to begin the direct quote;
YELLOW states the qualifications and authority of the writer/speaker;
BLUE provides the context of the passage and some interpretation of the quotation; and
GREEN points out the brackets and ellipses I placed in the quotes to keep grammatical fluidity.

QRE: the Genre

     Did you ever want to know what the stem cell controversy is about, but without all of the hassle of finding every site that talks about stem cells? Look no further than the Quick Reference Guide! The Quick Reference Guide (QRG) is a post-Internet genre whose purpose is to focus on condensing a certain controversy or topic to its different viewpoints and related evidence in order to allow a person unfamiliar with the controversy/topic to become informed about it with little effort. With my own QRG looming over me, it is fitting to notice the types of conventions that are apparent in the QRGs to fully comprehend this modern genre of writing.

Headings, like this one, guide the QRG along in a coherent manner.

     This is probably the most evident out of all of the conventions in the QRG. Headings usually appear every few paragraphs for most people who write QRGs. However, the use of the headings can vary from author to author. Some may simply write the heading as a statement similar to a sentence outline (like Dara Lind's QRG on Puerto Rico's debt); others might write them as a question (like Caitlyn Dewey's QRG on GamerGate); and others still might write them as fragments (like Dara Lind's QRG on #BernieSoBlack). Regardless of how the authors write the heading, their successive sentences are in response or in relation to the heading, depending if the authors wanted to make their QRG formal (like the #BernieSoBlack QRG) or colloquial (like the Sochi Olympics QRG). Primarily, the headings are there for both the author and the reader: the author, to maintain a sense of direction, unity, and coherence; and the reader, to clearly see the direction that the author is taking for the QRG.

Links and other sources are prominent in the QRG.

     The QRG is the author doing all of the research work and compiling and summarizing the research while presenting his viewpoint in the controversy/topic. Therefore, links, like this one, serve to direct the reader to the main article or source from where the author cited. This action builds the author's credibility as a writer (he did the research) while simultaneously acting as a nod to the contributors. Most authors will use links in this manner, no matter how their QRGs are stylized.

Photos are included in the QRG to captivate attention, just like a blog.

commons.wikimedia.org

     As with most other types of writing directed to the public, authors place photos in their QRGs to keep the readers interested in what they are reading. But the photos are not random ones (unlike the one you see on the right)--each photo relates to the article in some way. Dara Lind's GamerGate QRG features pictures of a person that she noted in her article and of tweets that serve as examples of the insults that female gamers are facing. The Puerto Rico QRG has pictures of people in Puerto Rico, both modern and historical, that provide an outlook of the island and emphasize the author's argumentative points. Abby Ohlheiser and Connor Simpson's QRG of the Sochi Olympics implements pictures that show what the article is talking about. Essentially, photos and visuals are used to make the readers more invested in what they are reading about--seeing is believing, after all; and seeing those pictures will inform them of the legitimacy of the controversy and will convince them to continue reading or, if it is a non-controversial topic, to build on the topic's and the author's credibility.

The information is presented in a way particular and general audiences can understand, just like a blog.

     For the five separate QRGs that I read, each one has interests to different audiences: the stem cell one pertained to a more medically sound audience; the Puerto Rico one pertained to political and economical audiences; the GamerGate one pertained to the social and gaming communities; the Sochi Olympics one pertained to sports-oriented people; and the #BernieSoBlack one pertained to sociopolitical audiences. However, although interests in different subjects might attract different people, each QRG was written in a way that even the general public can understand. Each author uses brief paragraphs (often only 3-5 sentences long) with many simple sentences to give a feeling of accomplish as the reader finishes reading the paragraphs. Each author used basic rhetoric and vocabulary, structured his story or argument simply, and adopted an approachable tone, allowing virtually anyone to read and comprehend his QRG. This is the QRG's power of accessibility: that even a history professor can read about stem cells and understand everything in the QRG. 

Come to think of it, the QRG is a lot like a research blog.

     In its totality, the QRG is what it is named--a quick reference guide. It is supposed to take a lengthy controversy or story, compress it, sprinkle in a thesis from the author to provide a personal viewpoint, and present evidence collected by the author to build his argument or story. It is supposed to be public-friendly: everyone with an interest in the written topic, no matter what the person specializes in, should be able to open a QRG, read it, become invested in it, and understand what is going on in the guide. It is supposed to be loaded with information: it is a research guide and should be seen as such in order to give validity to the author's arguments. Finally, the QRG is supposed to be a vessel of accessible information to increase everyone's understanding about the events that transpire in the world, regardless of previous intellect or background, all a mere click away.




Reflection: I looked at Kian's, Lekha's, and Arrick's QRG blog posts and commented on their posts. It seems that all four of us found the same conventions for a QRG, which I am happy about because that means that I am on the same track as the rest of us are. Now we just have to figure out how to bring all of them together.

Cluster of BPA Dental Sealants Controversy

After many days of perusing through the digital realms of the Internet, research databases, and social media sites, I have finally garnered enough information to begin the process of analyzing the BPA dental sealant controversy, a controversy that seems to be focused more on the "BPA" rather than the "dental sealant." To organize all of the data that I have obtained, I placed them into a cluster graph, which one may see here:

For reference, the colors are as defined and follows:

WHITE is the controversy itself;
GREEN indicates the groups involved in the controversy;
YELLOW notes the main speakers/writers for the groups;
PURPLE identifies the way the person publicly brought his argument;
BLUE marks an indicative statement that the person included in his argument; and
RED indicates the core belief of the person based on observing his argument.

The graph always flows in the order of the given color list. If you are lost, use the lines to guide you to the next colored bubble, because it can be difficult to read when everything is all "clustered" together!

www.quickmeme.com

Reflection: I studied Michael Gee's and Gabi Dodson's clusters, and for the most part, both were good. For Gabi, there was only the matter of trying to figure out how each piece of information fits with another, but even then, she still was able to make a cluster using Coggle. Kudos for that! For Michael, he kept his cluster relatively organized considering how much data he was stuffing in there and how small the space is to put all of that information in there (I should know--I used Google Drawing for my own cluster). Both did a very good job.

     I am not one to organize my facts this way. Perhaps it was through sheer, relentless conditioning in my AP English Language class in high school, but I always found it easier to absorb the information, organize it in my head, and write it all out. However, the more I worked on my bibliography, the more I realized that there was too much information to handle! By creating this cluster, it simplified all of the information into circles with connecting lines, making it exponentially easier for me to organize my thoughts and facts. This invention is and will definitely be an extremely useful tool for the upcoming quick reference guide and for future essays and projects as well. 

Draft #2 of Annotated Bibliography in AMA Style

Molecular Structure of Bisphenol A
en.wikipedia.org

Chinn C, Edelstein BL, Fleisch AF, Landrigan PJ, Sheffield PE. Bisphenol A and Related 
     Compounds in Dental Materials. Pediatrics. 2010;126(4):760-768. 
     http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/4/760.full.pdf+html. Accessed 
     Sept. 2, 2015.

     In the research brief "Bisphenol A and Related Compounds in Dental Materials," published in the scholarly journal Pediatrics, Dr. Chinn, Dr. Edelstein, Dr. Fleisch, Dr. Landrigan, and Dr. Sheffield, all of whom are either medical doctors or dentists, assert that given the minuscule amount of BPA exposure and the more significant benefits of having dental sealants rather than forbearing them, one may continue wearing BPA-based sealants without great fear. The five authors support their claim by providing statistical and scientific evidence outlining the length of time BPA stays in human saliva, the possibilities of BPA substitutes transforming into BPA, and some preventative measures against BPA. Their purpose is to give some clarity about BPA, share some new research data from studying people affected by BPA, and propose a recommended course of action to ultimately subside any worries about the "dangers" of BPA exposure. The five authors implement a more formal, scientific tone, diction, and syntax to appeal to the scholars and researchers that are studying the topics of BPA or dental products. This article will be of great use as a document in support of BPA-based sealants. 

en.wikipedia.org

Hauser R, Marcus M, Olea N, Vandenberg LN, Welshons WV. Human exposure to 
     bisphenol A. Reproductive Toxicology. 2007;24(2):139-177. http://ac.els-
     cdn.com/S0890623807002377/1-s2.0-S0890623807002377-main.pdf?_tid=813d52fa-
     534b-11e5-a7bc-
     00000aacb35e&acdnat=1441402126_73a2a18398c3a49db41060aa4e2deda9. 
     Accessed Sept. 2, 2015.

     In the scholarly journal Reproductive Toxicology, Dr. Hauser, Dr. Marcus, Dr. Olea. Dr. Vandenberg, and Dr. Welshons, all of whom are medical doctors or doctors of environmental or public health, published an article entitled "Human exposure to bisphenol A," which claims that BPA is a great detriment to organic life, both human and animal. To construct their argument, the authors often list pages of data obtained from research comparing humans to animals like rats, mice, and monkeys and interpret their data in sections, drawing many similarities between man and animal. The authors' purpose is to validate the dangers of BPA exposure for organic life and to figure out the extent of the damage BPA could do depending on one's stage of life. The authors adopt a formal, scientific tone and rhetoric similar to other scholarly journals. This article can be a great source of information to provide extremely detailed notes on BPA's effects and to show that BPA does not solely concern mankind.

en.wikipedia.org

Horowitz, J. Dueling Docs: Are Dental Sealants Safe for Kids? Huffington Post website.      
     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-horowitz/dueling-docs-are-dental-s_b_314729.html. 
     Published Nov. 17, 2011. Accessed Sept. 1, 2015. 

     Janet Horowitz, a writer for the online newspaper called Huffington Post, published an article named "Dueling Docs: Are Dental Sealants Safe for Kids?", in which she presents an argument between two dentists who have differing views concerning BPA-based sealants. Horowitz herself has no stance on the matter and only served to accommodate and present the argument: this is evident by the way she takes information from both supportive and non-supportive views on BPA sealants, sets up a contrast between the information, poses a question, and introduces the two debating doctors, including massive quotes from both of them to present both sides of the debate. Her purpose was to inform people about both sides of the BPA debate, allowing them to make their own choices concerning dental sealants. She uses more common vocabulary and a casual tone, appropriate for the general public. This article can be used to share some personal beliefs held by dentists, draw some insight from their defenses, and provide some minor evaluation of the benefits and detriments of BPA.

Landa, J. The Dangers of BPA. Huffington Post website. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-

     landa-md/healthy-living-news_b_4919960.html. Published March 7, 2014. Accessed 

     Sept. 1, 2015. 

     Obstetrician/gynecologist, hormone specialist, and Chief Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD Dr. Jen Landa wrote an article on the Huffington Post entitled "The Dangers of BPA," in which she provides her opposing view against BPA using her experience and expertise in her field and some research from the FDA and also includes some preventative measures that a person can take to avoid BPA exposure. She summarizes the report given by the FDA, notes the peculiarity of the U.S.'s situation concerning BPA, gives some of her knowledge from her experience as a doctor, and provides a bulleted list of tips to minimize BPA exposure, all with a simple-to-understand, public-friendly rhetorical style. Her purpose was to warn others about the "dangers of BPA" and to inspire an action to eliminate BPA from daily living. This article can be used in support of the opposition against BPA, especially because of the fact that the information comes from a well-qualified doctor.

www.flickr.com

Miller R, Whyatt R. Science AMA Series: We’re Rachel Miller and Robin Whyatt, professors 

     at Columbia University. We study how prenatal and early-life exposures to BPA and other 

     chemicals affect children’s health, including child asthma, lower IQ, and more. Ask Us 

     Anything!. The New Reddit Journal of Science. 2014. Available at: 

     https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/2j7mym/science_ama_series_were_rachel

     _miller_and_robin/. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015.

     Dr. Rachel Miller and Dr. Robin Whyatt, two professors from Columbia University, hosted an "Ask Us Anything" session on the New Reddit Journal of Science, answering questions concerning BPA and sharing their own beliefs against BPA, primarily stemming from their research into the relationship between BPA and child asthma. Using their expertise and research, they responded to inquiries concerning their thoughts on BPA, on BPA-free items, and on phthalates, a group of chemicals that increase the flexibility of plastics and also has effects similar to BPA. Because it is an AMA blog post, the two doctors kept medical jargon to a minimum and maintained a friendly tone. Their only purpose is to share some of their knowledge to the public to prevent people from being harmed by BPA. This article, like many others, can build upon the opposing side of BPA usage and give further insight into other materials used in plastics and their relationship to BPA.

 
@MNT_James. Prenatal BPA exposure could reduce children’s lung functioning 
     medicalnewstoday.com/articles/28351… #asthma #BPA. 
     https://twitter.com/MNT_James/status/519382893135532033. Posted Oct. 7, 2014. 

     Using information from the Journal of the American Medical Association, former clinical doctor and present Medical News Today writer James McIntosh implied in his article "Prenatal BPA exposure could reduce children's lung functioning," which can be found in Storify, that very young children could become asthmatic by being exposed to BPA. He cites information from the research data given by JAMA, providing many pieces of numerical data  to show the various rates at which children have had asthma by BPA exposure and many links to other sources. The purpose of the article was to highlight some more problems that BPA can cause children and to encourage parents to keep their children away from BPA. Besides the sections of research data, McIntosh uses basic, everyday rhetoric for the sake of his everyday readers. This article can be used to further build up a case to eliminate BPA from dental sealants, especially those designed for young children.

Pesca, M. BPA! BPS! Are They BS?. The Gist. 2015. Available at: 

     http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2015/08/the_gist_bpa_and_bps_plastics

     _with_maria_konnikova_and_canadian_elections.html. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015.

     In slate.com, Mike Pesca, the podcaster for the website's podcast The Gist, held an interview with Maria Konnikova, a reporter for the New Yorker, in his podcast, in which Konnikova presented her belief that BPA and BPS are both dangerous to humans. Konnikova relayed stories that she wrote before, such as the zebrafish BPA experiment and the BPS tests, to not only prove that BPA was detrimental to public health, but also reveal that BPS could be even worse than BPA. Her purpose was to stimulate people into becoming aware of BPA-free products and being sensitive to what was given to children. The article can lead to an interesting topic concerning possible alternatives for BPA and their effects in comparison to BPA.

en.wikipedia.org

Raloff, J. Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective. Science News website. 
     https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/putting-bpa-based-dental-fillings-
     perspective. Published July 16, 2012. Accessed Sept. 1, 2015.

     In the online magazine Science News, writer Janet Raloff published an article called "Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective," in which she suggested that bis-GMA and BPA, although relatively mellow in their side effects, have the potential to become devastating in a group setting, especially if the group involves children. She bases most of her writing on the research and observations of others, specifically Dr. Nancy Maserejian, Philip Landrigan, and Jeffrey Stansbury, building up the validity of the facts. The main purpose of the article is to inform readers about some new side effects of BPA and bis-GMA on children, making readers more cautious about the fillings. She maintains a casual tone and rhetoric for her article, often paraphrasing some of the cited research for easier comprehension. This article can be used to present some of the negatives of using BPA sealants and even state, in the context of the article, that many doctors are still unsure whether to ordain the use of BPA sealants or not. 

Rastogi, N. Let the Baby Have His Bottle?: Evaluating the Dangers of Bisphenol A. Slate 

     website. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2009/07/

     let_the_baby_have_his_bottle.html. Published July 21, 2009. Accessed Sept. 11, 2015. 

     In Slate magazine, writer Nina Rastogi conveyed and emphasized a common consensus that BPA's "low dose" experiment results were still inconclusive and that people only have to be careful about how much BPA they intake on a regular basis. The author provides many statistics from health organizations and research reports on BPA exposure, including hyperlinks to the sources in which she obtained the information. From reading the statistics, one may find that the purpose for the article is to show that the "dangers" of BPA are very minimal in small doses, meaning that people could live with BPA without fear. Rastogi keeps her rhetoric simple yet precise, and her argument is formatted conversationally without any extensive details. This article can be a great resource to prove that the reaction to BPA is simply an overreaction. 

www.flickr.com

@ScienceDaily2. BPA and BPS (substitute for BPA) affect embryonic brain development in 
     zebrafish: Low levels of… bit.ly/1ycGHUW (ScienceDaily). 
     https://twitter.com/ScienceDaily2/status/554752006007451648. Posted Jan. 12, 2015.

     In "BPA and BPS (substitute for BPA) affect embryonic brain development in zebrafish: Low levels of chemicals linked to hyperactivity," a research brief cited by ScienceDaily and posted on Twitter, the University of Calgary suggested that BPA and BPS are practically the same in terms of side effects. Most of the information, which consisted of many statistics and data concerning the experiments with zebrafish and the substances, was paraphrased from UCalgary's report and quoted from Deborah Kurrasch, the head of the laboratory conducting the research; Hamid Habibi, a researcher; and Cassandra Kinch, another researcher. The purpose of the article was to inform the people that BPS, a substance found in BPA-free materials, has similar side effects to BPA, as shown by the data revealing that zebrafish became hyperactive from exposure to both BPA and BPS. The article contained normal rhetoric to draw in a general audience. This article can be used to make a solid claim that BPA substitutes can be just as harmful as BPA and thus need to also be taken into consideration when one uses such materials.